Power The Dark Lord Knows Not
by Jenny-Beth
Summary: It seems that the "power the dark lord knows not" is not love, but a young woman with unique powers and a familiar personality that no one can quite identify.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, the only things in this whole story are my main character, Tara, and the plot. JKR owns the rest.

Author's Note: Alright. It seems I finally managed to catch an elusive plot bunny and write about it. I have so many ideas written down and this is the only one that seems to really work for me. I am sorry for the long delay between stories. Call it a hiatus, if you will.

_**Power The Dark Lord Knows Not**_

_**Chapter One**_

Hermione Granger was rushing through Diagon Alley. She was late to make it to the Weasley'sfor dinner.

In her great rush, she bumped into someone. A hand shot out and caught her arm with quidditch-like reflexes and prevented her from landing in a mud puddle.

Hermione looked up into a pair of sparkling emerald eyes that seemed to be laughing at her. She could not help but sheepishly smile back. The girl looking at her was tall and slender with straw blonde hair and a mouth that was drawn up in a friendly smile. The smile encouraged Hermione to continue to smile.

"Hi. I'm Tara. Nice to meet you, although the circumstances are regrettable," said this new, pretty woman.

Hermione's smile became wry. "I was not paying attention. I am at least as much to blame as you are. I am Hermione." Tara's eyebrow rose and her eyes sparkled as her smile widened. Hermione grinned in response. "I am rather hard to miss, aren't I?" she asked, referring to her large bushy hair and the extensive media coverage that she received as one of Harry Potter's best friends. Tara merely smiled in response.

Suddenly a voice, cold, hard, and familiar, interrupted. "Aww. Did the filthy little Mudblood find a friend?" the voice sneered.

If it had been up to Hermione, the two girls would have walked past the blonde boy with nothing more than a 'shut up, ferret'. However, that choice was taken out of her hands.

"Have we met?" Tara's voice came out soft and cold. It reminded Hermione of someone but she could not place who exactly.

Now that Tara was turned around and the boy could see her face, his eyes lit up. She was very pretty, after all. "I don't believe I have had that pleasure, no." He offered his hand. "I am Dr-"

"Malfoy," Tara cut him off. "And you seem to be as much of a prat as your father."

Hermione and Malfoy both did a double take. "You know my father?" he asked curiously.

Tara's cool mask transformed into an incredulous stare. "Is there anyone who does not?" she asked dryly.

Malfoy studied her, his brow furrowed as he pondered her. The attitude was familiar,

But from where? He suddenly stifled his curiosity and sneered, "You're one of Father's mistresses, aren't you?"

Hermione gasped but Tara just said coldly, "Oh, yes. I am certain that your dear old dad would be so proud of you right now."

It looked as if Malfoy might physically attack them. Hermione's hand began to inch towards her wand but Tara reached for her wrist and led her away. Hermione glanced over her shoulder at Malfoy, who was looking directly at them but seemed confused.

"He can't see you," Tara said easily.

"Why not? I can see him." Hermione looked legitimately confused.

"I can make myself impossible to see and I made you invisible as well when I grabbed your wrist."

Hermione stared. "Like a Disillusionment charm?"

Tara smiled. "Not quite. It's just something that I can do."

The other girl stared in awe. She had, in all of her years reading, never heard of anything like this.

"You know what?" Hermione asked. When Tara looked at her, she continued. "I am going out to see some friends for dinner. Would you like to come along?"

Tara began to grin. "If no one will mind. I don't want to impose on anyone."

"You won't be imposing on anyone. Here," she said, offering her hand. "I will Apparate us there."

"Where is 'there'?" Tara asked as she placed her hand in Hermione's.

There was the experience of being squeezed through a tube much smaller than she was, and then she was standing in front of a fairly small, run-down house. There were trees running along the fence line so that she could not see the rear yard. She could, however, hear the talking and laughter from behind the trees. She turned to Hermione and waited for the answer to her question.

"Welcome to the Burrow," Hermione said with warmth evident in her voice.

Tara smiled. "I think it's brilliant," she said, unknowingly quoting Harry Potter the first time he had seen the house.

Hermione led her through the house and out to the backyard. The place was crawling with redheads! There were eight of them when she counted. There was also a man with sandy brown hair and many scars standing with a woman with blinding pink hair. A tall, very familiar old man was standing with a tall pale man with long, dark, greasy hair who was glaring at Hermione for no apparent reason. Harry Potter was also standing off to one side with one of the redheads.

The place really was brilliant! Hermione dragged Tara over to an older woman with bright red hair. "Mrs. Weasley? This is Tara."

Molly Weasley turned to look at the two girls and smiled. She pulled Hermione into a hug, moaned about how thin and peaky she was and then turned to Tara.

Molly smiled widely at her and pulled her into a hug just as she had done with Hermione. "Hello, dear. I am Molly Weasley, Ron's mother."

Tara smiled and resisted the urge to snuggle into the woman's warm embrace. It was so rare that she was hugged. "I'm Tara," she said softly.

Molly pulled back and smiled warmly before calling out to the rest of the group. "Everyone, this is Tara. She is a friend of Hermione's."

Everyone called out a greeting except for the old man (who was looking at her strangely) and his companion. She looked at them and smiled as she headed towards them.

"Professor Dumbledore," she greeted quietly.

The old man smiled. "You look different," he said just as quietly.

Her smile immediately died. "It was necessary." Before Dumbledore could say anything more, another redhead burst through the back door.

"Percy!" Molly called out eagerly. Being as Percy worked full time at the ministry of Magic and was rather a workaholic, his family did not see him very often.

It was Bill Weasley who noticed his brother's pale face and wide hazel eyes. His glasses sat crookedly on his nose and his usually impeccable hair was rumpled and unkempt. "What's up, Percy?" he asked, both curious and concerned.

Percy appeared to be hyperventilating, Tara noted calmly. She was reasonably certain that she already knew what his crisis was.

Finally he managed to wheeze out, "The MacDonalds are dead."

There was a collective gasp from everyone present except Tara. The first person to speak was Harry. "Who are the MacDonalds?"

It was Arthur Weasley who answered. "They are an old wizarding family - older than the Malfoys. Back in the days of the Hogwarts founders, there was royalty in the wizarding world. The MacDonalds were the royal family. They continued to rule until the people decided that they wanted a democracy. That was when the Ministry was formed. The only MacDonalds left were an older man, his wife, and their daughter."

Percy had sufficiently recovered himself and announced, "The man and his wife are dead. Aurors did not find the body of their daughter. It is believed that she was taken by Death Eaters."

Dumbledore, who had previously remained silent, calmly stated, "I have my doubts."

Before anyone could question this odd statement, the young woman with the pink hair burst out, "But now Harry will not have their help!"

Tara's gaze swivelled over to the young woman who had spoken and then to Harry Potter himself. He had gone very pale. "You mean that I had help and now they are all dead?"

Before Tara could speak, Dumbledore said calmly, "Exceptfor the daughter."

"Who was captured by Death Eaters," Harry finished angrily.

"I wouldn't count on that, actually," said a cool female voice.

Everyone turned to see a tall slender girl with long black hair and piercing grey eyes. Dumbledore was the first to address the stranger. "Ah, Miss MacDonald. I had hoped you would find me."

Hermione turned to look for Tara, wondering what she thought of this new development. Her companion with the blonde hair and laughing green eyes was gone. "Tara?" Hermione called, looking for her.

"Yes," a familiar voice asked. Hermione turned to the source of the voice and saw this 'Miss MacDonald' looking at her with a familiar smile.

"Tara?" Hermione asked again, this time filled with awe.

The MacDonald girl held out her hand to Hermione. "Hi. I'm Tara… MacDonald," she said, quoting her earlier introduction but adding her last name.

Everyone gaped except, of course, Dumbledore, who smiled and said, "It has been a while, Miss MacDonald. Are you quite alright?"

Tara had a brief memory of her parents begging for their lives while she remained unseen in the corner. She quickly pushed the memory aside. "I will be fine. How is Minerva?" she asked, shocking everyone present yet again.

Suddenly Tara laughed, feeling someone attempting to prod her mind. She turned to the man with Dumbledore. "Professor Snape," she said cheerfully.

Severus Snape was staring at her. She may as well have not been standing there for all the good his Legilimencydid for him. He did not even come up with the slamming into a wall sensation he got when he came across someone using Occlumency. On the other hand, she seemed to have broken through his Occlumency (which was rather strong if he did say so himself, which he did) and known who he was and what he was doing. This girl was certainly… different.

Dumbledore laughed as well. Soon the party was back in motion and Percy agreed to stay. His tension and the glances Tara continued to receive were the only indication of the earlier fiasco. Tara remained with Dumbledore and Snape.

"You never did tell me how Minerva is doing."

Albus Dumbledore smiled warmly. "She is doing well, Miss MacDonald. She is worried, of course, about Mr. Potter."

"Aren't we all?" Tara asked. She then turned to Snape. "We know you are worried even if you do not like him."

Severus blinked. The girl was uncanny.

He turned to Albus, deciding to ignore the girl. She smirked but he did not notice. "Have you found me an assistant, Headmaster?"

"Severus, there is no one willing to take that kind of a risk," Dumbledore said with a sigh.

"What do you teach, Professor?" Tara asked innocently.

"Potions," Snape bit out.

Dumbledore's eyes took on an ominous twinkle. "Severus, I have thought of someone. I still have to ask them, however."

Snape looked suspicious but nodded. "I need a drink," he muttered as he stalked away, his robes billowing out behind him.

Albus promptly turned to Tara and she smiled. He smiled widely in return. "What do you recall me telling your father about the Order of the Phoenix?"

Neither mentioned that her remembering anything was against the rules.

"I believe," she began, "that it was a secret society that fights Voldemort and his followers."

"Indeed," Dumbledore agreed. "As such, we have a spy within the Death Eater ranks-"

"Professor Snape," she cut in.

Dumbledore nodded, not at all fazed by her knowledge of this top secret fact. "Yes. He has lately been called away often and requires some assistance in the management of his classroom and paperwork."

"And you want me to do it," Tara finished. At Dumbledore's nod, she asked, "Would he not be required to kill me? After what happened to my parents…"

Snape's voice answered her. "They wanted you alive."

Tara's eyes widened. "Why?"

Snape narrowed his eyes at her. "Your abilities," he replied bluntly.

She pondered this for a moment. Finally she said, "So I could spy as well."

Dumbledore shook his head. "I don't think that is a good idea." At her questioning look, he explained, "They only wanted you for what you can do. You would be forced to kill many people and then tell me all of the details. That or you could refuse to kill innocent people and be killed."

Tara snorted. "He can't kill me if he can't find me. Besides, how is that any different than what the professor does?" she demanded, pointing at Snape.

"You foolish girl," Snape snapped. "I have no reason to live! If I fail, it is no great loss."

Tara's eyes flashed. "And what have I got to lose? My parents are dead and I have no friends other than Professor Dumbledore."

Molly Weasley chose that moment to appear. "Dinner is on the table, dears." The three of them nodded absently and she walked away, wondering what was going on.

After Molly was gone, the silence continued. Finally Tara said, "I will be Professor Snape's assistant on the condition that after two months I will be able to decide for myself what I want to do. At that point, I get to choose. I will leave you to discuss it."

As soon as she had walked away, Snape turned to the headmaster. "Absolutely not," he said resolutely.

Dumbledore was watching Tara with his head tilted to one side as if he heard something. Snape heard nothing. Albus eventually turned to the Potions Master. "Severus, we don't have much choice. If we say no, she will disappear and Harry will be on his own, not to mention that you will still have no assistant."

Severus burst out, "But if we say yes, she will get herself killed and then she will be no use to either myself or Potter anyways." He sighed. If it had been anyone else as young as she was, he would have said no with thought of protecting them. As it was, she may be the only hope they had to help Potter defeat the Dark Lord.

"I don't suppose I need to remind you what the Dark Lord will do with her."

Albus sighed again. "No, Severus, you don't. I don't like it either. You know how much I hate sending you to him. It would be so much worse with her."

Severus arched an eyebrow. "How so?" he asked, feeling nearly envious of the girl before he stifled it.

Dumbledore smiled sadly. "I very nearly raised her. I tutored her in the evenings for years. After she had frightened off all of the available tutors, her father sent me an owl. He wanted to know if I knew of any more.I met her and decided that I had to do it myself."

"I'm sure her father was thrilled," Severus muttered darkly.

Albus chuckled. "Something like that."

Severus returned to the topic at hand. "She's too young to be spying and she has no training."

"You were young with no training."

"Yes," Severus agreed dryly. "And my sunny personality is a stunning goal for her to strive for."

Albus chuckled again before becoming serious. "Honestly, Severus, we have little choice."

Severus sighed. "I know. I just don't want her to suffer as I do."

"I appreciate the thought, Professor." Her voice came from behind him.

Dumbledore smiled widely at the scowl on Snape's face. "We want you as an assistant."

She smirked, her grey eyes sparkling mischievously. "I know, Professor."

"If we are to work together, I insist that you call me Albus."

Tara smiled warmly. "Yes, Prof- Albus."

Snape was sizing her up and she could feel it but she ignored it and told the professors that Molly had saved them some dinner. Albus smiled and headed wordlessly towards Molly.

Snape stayed behind and continued to study Tara. She was watching Dumbledore walk away and ignoring him entirely. Finally, he felt the need to speak. "I imagine you will be living at the school with the rest of the staff?"

"That is the idea," she said, finally turning to look at him. "After all, where else am I going to go?"

Severus had to admit (only to himself, of course) that he had not thought of that. "When will you be arriving?"

She smiled. "When do you want me to be there?"

He scowled. He didn't want her to be there at all. "The rest of the teachers will arrive a week or two before classes start."

Tara studied him for a long moment. "I know you hate the idea of my doing this, Professor, but what else am I supposed to do? I have nowhere to live, I can't use my Gringotts account, as I can be traced through it.I have no income, and I have a bunch of Death Eaters after me. I am sorry that it bothers you, though."

"You're just so young," he muttered.

Tara gave an unladylike snort. "Just how young do you think I am, Professor?"

Feeling as if he had missed something, Snape made his best guess. "Eighteen or so."

His new assistant threw back her head and laughed. "I am flattered, sir."

Snape felt his eyebrows rise. "How old are you, then?" he demanded.

"Twenty-five," she replied cheerfully.

He could not help but look her over. She looked no more than a day over twenty.

Albus chose that moment to stroll out of the Burrow with Harry Potter at his side. "Harry, this is Miss MacDonald. She will be assisting Professor Snape this year."

Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, held out a hand to Tara, who took it and smiled. "You must not come and hesitate to come and visit me once the term starts.I have a feeling that we are going to need one another."

She heard Snape mutter, "More like he will need you, the incompetent fool."

It seemed that Harry had heard him as well, as he flushed and his green eyes flashed dangerously. Tara caught his eye and Snape watched in interest as Harry's eyes widened and shot over to her. She merely smiled at Snape when he looked at her.

Finally Harry grinned at her. "I'll come and visit all the time. Do you mind if I bring Ron and Hermione along?"

Tara smiled. "Of course not. They are part of this mess, too."

"Harry!" Molly's voice carried from the kitchen.

He grinned apologetically. "I have to go. When the term starts, I will come and see you."

Tara just smiled and nodded before he took off at a jog when Molly called for him again.

"Dunderhead," Snape growled.

"Maybe," she admitted. "But he's a nice dunderhead and the fate of the world rests on his shoulders."

Snape sighed. "So everyone keeps telling me. If you tell me to take it easy on him, I will beat you about the ears."

Tara laughed. "I'll be sure to make a mental note of that."

Albus had to smile as, at her comment, Severus' eyes took on a new sparkle and his mouth began to twitch in a manner that was suspiciously reminiscent of a smile. It seemed that Hogwarts' newest employee was having a good effect on their resident spy. Dumbledore could not have been more pleased with the way things were turning out.

However, night had fallen and Tara looked dead on her feet. She was no good to anyone when she was nearly dead. And so, with that, Albus sent them all to bed.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **It is not mine. If it was, there would be more than five copies of The Tales of Beedle The Bard in existence.

**Author's Note: **Upon rereading the previous chapter, I realized that the progression of this story seems rather obvious; Severus meets Tara, who has absurd amounts of power, she becomes his assistant, they fall in love, the Dark Lord is defeated, and everyone lives happily ever after. If you believe that, you deserve the shock that will befall you later.

Also, for the person who said that MacDonald is not a very magical name: there are three in the books already. Magnus Macdonald is mentioned in Quidditch Through The Ages and Mary Macdonald attended Hogwarts with the Marauders, Lily, and Snape. She was attacked by Mulciber. Natalie McDonald was a first year student sorted in Goblet of Fire. She was named after a fan who, sadly, died before she had a chance to read the book.

_**Power The Dark Lord Knows Not**_

_**Chapter Two**_

Dumbledore was back at the Burrow bright and early the next morning. He had Apparated to a nearby hill and walked the rest of the way.

Upon knocking on the door, he was rather surprised when Tara opened it. "Good morning… Albus."

"Miss MacDonald. You're up early this morning."

Tara's lips quirked upwards in a smile. "As are you. Please, call me Tara. It is my name, after all." The two of them stood in companionable silence for a moment until Tara asked, "Not to be rude, Albus, but what brings you here?"

"I came to fetch you if you care to come," was the cheerful response. The old man's eyes twinkled in the way that only they could.

Tara smirked. "That depends on where you are planning to take me. I remember some of our 'class trips,' _Professor_."

Albus laughed merrily. "I merely wish to take you to Hogwarts. I have a Potions Master who certainly requires his assistant in order to successfully complete some of his research."

She rolled her eyes and said sarcastically, "You mean, of course, that deep within his heart of hearts he pities the poor orphan girl with nowhere to go and who somehow makes him want to smile."

"Of course," Albus repeated, by way of agreeing. "Naturally, we shall not be telling Severus that I said so, correct?"

"My lips are sealed," Tara vowed, her grey eyes sparkling with mirth.

Suddenly Dumbledore was serious again. "How are you feeling, my dear?"

"Albus," Tara began reproachfully. "You, of all people, know that my parents and I avoided one another's company as much as possible. I simply cannot be expected to miss them terribly."

Albus' blue eyes were sad, rather than filled with their normal sparkle. "I am aware. However, you did have to see it."

Tara's eyes widened. "How did you know that?" she demanded sharply.

"Severus was, unfortunately, there. They noticed the house shake and the lights flicker. Odd behaviour for an old castle. Even Hogwarts does not do such things. I merely put two and two together."

"And the logical conclusion was four," she sighed.

Dumbledore looked truly sad. "Indeed."

"Albus," came Molly's voice unexpectedly. "Would you like to join us for breakfast?"

"That would be delightful, Molly. I even, by chance, have lemon drops to share," the man replied, the twinkle in his eye rapidly returning. He winked at Tara who barely stifled her laugh.

"Who are you trying to kid, Professor? You always have them with you!" one of the Weasley twins spoke up. "You even offered Fred and I some in detention once."

Tara looked at her former tutor with her eyebrows raised. Albus merely smiled. Molly appeared to be supremely unimpressed with this piece of information, but Arthur said something to her and cut her off before she managed to really get into a rant.

Harry, Fred, Ron, and Hermione came pouring into the room next. Hermione promptly sidled up next to Tara. She immediately began to speak.

"I had a chance to think about what you said last night. You may be able to 'put a stopper on death' if you added something with properties similar to Nightshade. However, I am still unconvinced that Nightshade itself would work."

Tara scratched her chin thoughtfully. "You may be right. I had considered the use of Devil's Snare. It would make the drinker more resistant… in theory, anyways. I don't recall it ever being used in a potion before."

Hermione began to rub her hands together as if she were washing them. It reminded Tara strongly of Lady Macbeth in a Muggle play Dumbledore had made her study when she was thirteen.

"I suppose it might," Hermione spoke, interrupting Tara's reflection. "You would have to keep in mind that since it has never been used before that we know of, the effects of its use are unknown and potentially dangerous."

The two girls were still talking about it when the fireplace lit up with green flame and one Severus Snape stepped through. He seemed very irritated.

"Headmaster," he said coldly.

Tara stepped forward to take the blame. Snape would later reflect on how Gryffindor it was of her to do so. "I'm sorry, Professor. Albus wanted to leave, but I got caught up in a conversation with Hermione about something you had said in one of her Potions classes."

Severus looked over at Hermione, who was looking rather guilty. "What did I say?"

Hermione looked up at him and quoted his entire speech from her first Potions class verbatim. Tara decided that the girl must do it often, as the professor did not even blink at the impressive display.

When Hermione had finished, Severus asked, "And what of that is so interesting?"

"What part of it is not?" Tara burst out.

"Can you really teach us to 'put a stopper on death,' sir?"Hermione asked eagerly.

Snape scowled. "Of course I can," he said coldly. "When have I told a lie?"

Tara smirked. "You mean besides right now, Sir?" she taunted.

Severus growled at her, before grabbing her and hauling her out to the back garden. "You will _not_ challenge me in front of my students," he snarled.

Completely unfazed, Tara said coolly, "So I am supposed to stand by and watch you lie to them. I have a problem with that, actually."

"How do you know that I cannot teach them to stopper death?"

"Such a potion," Tara snarled back, "does not exist. You may be able to fool a great many people, Severus Snape; Albus and the Dark Lord among them, but you cannot fool me."

Snape growled before turning and stalking away. Tara was not so easily put off and followed him, not saying a word, until he Apparated away.

She soon returned to the Burrow. Everyone stared at her. This, of course, only made her angrier. "What?" she finally snapped.

"How did you know he was lying?" Arthur Weasley asked, while his wife and Albus exchanged glances.

"His Occlumency shields were stronger than usual and I just know that no such potion has ever been created."

Albus rose from his seat. "Let's you and I got you Hogwarts. I have a proposition for you."

The two of them bade farewell to everyone and flooed back to the Headmaster's office at Hogwarts. Dumbledore promptly sank into the chair behind his desk and motioned for Tara to take one of the chairs in front of the desk.

"What can I do for you, Albus?" she asked wearily as she rubbed her temples. She could feel a headache growing behind her eyes.

"I am willing to indict you into the Order now on the condition that you wait the two month period before you decide to perform spy work."

Tara looked wary now. "Why?"

Albus sighed. "As much as I tell Harry to trust Severus based on the fact that I do, I am uncertain whether I truly do. Half of me continues to wonder why Voldemort allows him to live." Tara did not flinch when she heard the name.

"Voldemort believes he is a spy." When Albus merely nodded, she added, "For the Order."

That made Albus look up abruptly. "Feel free to explain."

Tara studied him carefully. "Did you know that my family was going to be attacked?"

Dumbledore hung his head guiltily. "No," he whispered.

She nodded. "I thought as much. I suspect Snape never knew either. He is allowed to live and go to these things when he never knew about them before hand. The hope, I imagine, would be that both you and he begin to feel helpless."

Albus stared. "So if you begin to spy saying that he convinced you, you will immediately be suspected as well."

Tara merely nodded he head. He sighed and leaned forward, supporting himself on his desk and looking for all the world like the old man he truly was but never acted as.

"I can't let you do it," he finally said.

"Albus, you know I am going to, whether you want me to or not."

He sat up and the two of them attempted to stare the other down. Neither was successful, however, as Minerva McGonagall chose that moment to burst into the room in a huff.

"That man is- is…_ insufferable_," she seethed.

"Hello Professor McGonagall," Tara greeted with amusement, making an accurate guess as to who Minerva was talking about. The woman was the only member of the Hogwarts staff that she had met while Dumbledore tutored her.

The older woman jerked her head around to stare at Tara. "My dear! Thank Merlin you're alright. I was so afraid for you when I heard the news." She flew from where she stood at the door and scooped Tara up into a giant hug in a display that would have shocked any of the students. They would not have believed it possible for prim Professor McGonagall to do anything so demonstrative. To Albus and Tara, however, it was to be expected.

"Who is an insufferable man?"Albus asked innocently, his eyes twinkling madly.

"You know perfectly well who," the Transfiguration professor said with a scowl. "Severus has a broom handle shoved so far up his-"

"Minerva," Dumbledore wisely interrupted. "You must meet Severus' new assistant."

The older woman sat, waiting for the other shoe to drop, as it were. It soon dawned on her when Albus looked at her in silence. "Tara?" she asked incredulously. At the younger woman's nod, Minerva began to shake her head. "Albus, you cannot put her through this!"

"I did not choose to, Minerva," he said with a sigh. "She is determined to spy for the Order whether she works here or not. Hogwarts is safer for her than anywhere else."

"_She_," Tara interjected, "does not appreciate being talked about as if _she_ were not in the room."

Both Albus and Minerva had the good grace to look ashamed of themselves. Minerva finally turned to Tara. "I am merely concerned that you are making a rash decision after yesterday's tragedy."

Tara's jaw hardened and she rose from her seat. "Where might I find my quarters?" she asked coldly.

After she had left, Albus turned to Minerva. "You will find that she is a great deal like Severus. Her desire to spy does not surprise me, although is worries me."

Meanwhile, Tara was stalking down to the dungeons. She stopped at the second portrait past the tapestry of the Grey Lady and stared at it. "You have got to be kidding me," she groaned.

There before her was her father. He scowled at her. "I am so glad you felt the need to use all of your magical training to save your mother and I, rather than hiding. That would have been very cowardly of you," he said sarcastically.

"It's called self-preservation," she drawled. "And maybe I wanted you dead. It's not like you would have saved me if it had been the other way around."

"How very Slytherin of you, Miss MacDonald," a familiar voice drawled.

Tara turned around to see Snape. "Thank you, Professor," she said with a smile that was only slightly forced.

Severus arched an eyebrow. That was a compliment to her? Would this girl never cease to amaze him?

"And you are…" Tara's father trailed off rudely.

Severus turned to the portrait. "Your daughter's boss," he said smoothly.

Her father studied him. He never flinched. Finally, he said, "You'll have to watch her all of the time. She is clumsy, impertinent, and incredibly dull witted."

Severus felt his eyebrows reaching for his hairline once again. He did not perceive her as clumsy and she was certainly dull-witted. These were words he would have applied to the Longbottom boy. Impertinent, on the other hand, he could see for himself. "I see," was all he said.

Tara snorted, which caused her father to snarl. "You brought up to be a lady. Control yourself."

She merely smirked at the portrait. Severus was the one who broke the silence. "Have you actually _been_ in your quarters yet?"

"No," she sighed. "I was distracted."

"I see," Severus sneered. She looked as if she was about to give him a snarky reply but he cut her off before she started. "Did Albus have the foresight to tell you how to get in?"

"Albus _Dumbledore_?" her father asked from his portrait. He was ignored.

"He said something about setting a password. On further thought, perhaps I should have asked, rather than storming out," she muttered.

Snape smirked. "You tell the portrait what you wish the password to be," he bit out.

Tara paused, a devious twinkle in her eye. "Alright. Father, I want the password to be 'death'. Do you think that you can handle opening my door?"

Severus felt his lips twitch upwards again. How irritating!

Meanwhile, Tara's father was yelling, "You know I would hex you for that if I could!"

"But you can't," was her smug reply. "Death," she added, and her father had no choice but to allow her into her own quarters. Just to bother the irritating portrait, she called out, "Would you care to join me, Professor?"

Snape felt his own rebellious streak rise to meet hers. "Of course, Miss MacDonald," he purred.

"My daughter will not prostitute herself out like this!" her father screamed.

Severus was shocked when Tara literally hissed in rage and backed out of the portrait. When she looked at her father, her face was set in a deadly calm mask that Severus quickly identified as identical to his own. "Which is why," she said in a horrifyingly level voice, "I pity your daughter. I had a father like you once. He was a bigger git than Lucius Malfoy. I watched my father die yesterday. It was the most liberating moment of my life." Her voice was still a deadly calm when she reached the end of her speech.

Her father froze and stared at her. "You _enjoyed_ watching your mother and I die?"

"You, in particular," she bit out, an undercurrent of rage now apparent in her tone. "I particularly enjoyed the part where you begged for your life. You never thought to beg for Mother's, I noticed. If you will please excuse me," she added in a mockery of politeness. "I have a guest to attend to."

Severus did not even attempt to cover his awe when she returned to her quarters and the door closed behind her. "What?" she demanded.

"Have you heard of the Muggle mental illness called 'bipolar'?"

"No," she said slowly, racking her brain.

"Never mind then," he said calmly. He turned to look at her quarters and gaped openly (much to Tara's amusement).

The main room was green! There were hints of yellow and navy, but the walls and sofa were green. He peered into her loo. It was a light yellow. The office was navy. He refused to check on the colour of her bedroom.

"Green," was his very articulate comment.

"Indeed," she laughed.

Severus managed to compose himself and asked curiously, "Were you ever sorted?"

"Into one of the Hogwarts houses?" At his nod, she said, "No. Why?"

He studied her as he replied, "Your quarters are decorated in the colours for three of the four houses, assuming that your room is not red."

Tara studied the room. "These are actually my family tartan colours; green with bits of navy and yellow."

"Ah," he said in understanding.

Tara suddenly remembered something Dumbledore had said to her. "Professor, are you doing some sort of research you wanted me here for?"

His eyes flickered some sort of emotion (confusion perhaps?), but his face remained blank. "Not particularly. I would like to more about your skill level before I include you in my research."

"As I thought," Tara replied with a small laugh. "Crazy old man," she muttered.

Snape suddenly understood. "Is that how he got you here?"

Tara laughed outright. "Yes, and the idea was only encouraged when you flooed over."

Severus' dark eyes darkened further. "I had a meeting last night over a failed mission. I had to report to Albus."

Her grey eyes also darkened. "Where you tortured too badly?" she asked, filled with concern that her safety had put him in this danger.

He drew himself up straighter. "I am fine," he bit out.

One of her eyebrows lifted. "That is not what I asked."

Severus sank into a navy armchair. It was too squishy for his tastes. "He only used the Cruciatus curse on me twice." He felt old, sore, disheartened, and as if he had failed this very young woman.

Tara looked at him for a moment and summoned her bag from where she had left it. A small bag zoomed from her bedroom and into her outstretched hand. She rummaged through it for a moment and pulled out a nondescript vial. It was immediately passed to the professor. "Drink this."

Severus eyed it suspiciously for a moment before removing the cork. He sniffed it. "Pepper-Up Potion? Where did you get this?" he asked, looking for a label on the vial.

"I brewed it myself."

Her answer drew him up short. It should not have, he would later reflect. Albus would not give him a perfectly incompetent assistant, after all. He sniffed it again. He barely registered that it was perfectly brewed before he quickly downed the contents. The effect was immediate.

Tara stood up and moved to crouch before him in the chair. "You have done nothing wrong, Professor. If anything, you saved me. Thank you," she said softly.

"It reminded me of…" he trailed off, thinking of Lily Evans. He was _mortified_ to find a tear rolling down his cheek. It was roughly brushed away. He hoped Tara had not noticed.

She had, but she was too tactful to say anything. The man had clearly seen something that horrified him. She could only wonder how much, if any, of it was related to his role as a double agent.

Suddenly the fireplace lit up with green flame and Dumbledore's head was floating in the grate. "How is the research going?" he asked pleasantly.

Suddenly Severus and Tara understood. Getting to know one another was the research project?!

"It's going quite well, I think," Tara responded with a glance in Snape's direction. She remembered to ask, "Why did you feel the need to make my father the portrait on my door? Finding him was a rather unpleasant experience."

Dumbledore studied her. "It can't have been that bad."

"It was," Severus interjected. "He accused her of being a prostitute."

Both Albus' eyebrows launched upwards and his mouth fell slightly open. Tara, seeing him, began to giggle. "Your face!" she managed to gasp out between giggles.

Severus actually began to chuckle. He paused in his moping and let out a low rumble of laughter. Both Albus and Tara paused what they were doing in order to stare at this new miracle. Snape felt their stares and quieted in order to stare back.

There was a ridiculously long awkward silence.

"And on that note, I'll take my leave," Albus said with a grin. His head swiftly disappeared through the grate.

Snape turned to look back at Tara, who had never stopped staring at him. "Can I help you?"

"You laughed," she said in awe.

He sighed. "I do that sometimes. Most people do." She continued to stare until he decided to return to his own quarters.

"Cerberus," he muttered to the portrait on his door. It swung open and he headed straight for his drink cabinet. He did not drink often, but when he did, he liked to drink himself into a stupor.

'What was I thinking to take her on as an assistant?' he wondered. 'I have ruined her life.'


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: **If it were mine, I would be sending this to a publisher.

**Author's Note: **Many thanks to my reviewers and a huge thanks to my beta, Reginald the duck, who has painstakingly gone through many of the things that I have written (some not even posted) and caught all of the stupid mistakes.

This chapter is interesting. You finally learn who Tara reminds people of, but only one or two of the characters are aware of it. You'll also learn about Tara's past and more about her parents. Her mother, who has played such a small role, will play a much larger role in this chapter. Happy reading!

_**Power The Dark Lord Knows Not**_

_**Chapter Three**_

The next few weeks were spent planning lessons and determining Tara's role in Professor Snape's classroom. In typical style, he was not being at all pleasant.

"You do recall, of course," he drawled one day, "that I do not like to be corrected in front of my students."

Tara was not at all happy. This was the last day of the holidays before the students arrived and it was nearly dinner time. The professor had been harping at her for one thing or another since day one and she had had quite enough. She finally lost her patience and her temper. Rather than her usual half-hearted agreement, she spoke her mind.

"And you, of course, recall me saying that I will not stand by and allow you to lie to your students. It is detrimental to their learning," she growled.

Snape coldly bit out, "I would be forced to report you to the Headmaster."

Tara laughed just as coldly. "And what is he going to do about it? I have nowhere to go, no family to go to, no other source of income, and Death Eaters are after me! Do what you wish. I am done for the day!" She slammed her hand on the table in front of her before turning and storming from the room.

Minerva was just around the corner, heading towards the Potions classroom. "Hello, Minerva," Tara muttered as she nearly passed her.

The older woman smiled and turned around to join Tara. She was about to return the greeting when she saw her companion's darkened face. "What did he do?" she asked with a resigned sigh.

"No more than usual," Tara admitted.

Minerva smiled wryly. "It never is," she replied dryly. "You simply come to a point when you cannot handle him any longer and you must leave. I was just about to come and rescue you. Clearly you do not need it," she finished unnecessarily.

Tara smiled, pushing her concerns with Snape to the side. "Would you care to join me for dinner?"

It was only after the two of them were gone that Severus stepped into view with a smirk on his face. So that was what they thought? Well, he was a spy. He could fool the best of them.

He prowled to the Great Hall and stalked into the room, his robes billowing spectacularly behind him. There were only two seats available and both were unappealing. One was next to Sybil Trelawney and the other was next to Tara MacDonald. His face twisted itself into a frightening scowl as he chose to sit next to Sybil. After all, he could only be expected to deal with so much of his bloody assistant in one day.

While Severus was thoroughly failing to enjoy this last dinner of relative peace, Tara was, by contrast, enjoying herself. She had been parked between Charity Burbage, the Muggle Studies professor, and Madam Hooch, the flying teacher and Quidditch referee. Hooch, who did not seem to have a first name, was going on about a Quidditch event, while Charity was running a lively commentary of the similarities between Quidditch and a Muggle sport called basketball. Madam Hooch's rising frustration and Charity's ignorance of the impending explosion were both quite amusing.

Following dinner, Severus promptly removed himself from the room. Why linger with such mindless and foolish professors as were in Hogwarts' employ? If ignorance was catching, he would rather be elsewhere.

Ignorance, it seemed, was not catching, for when he saw his assistant the following morning, she appeared to be in no worse condition than she had been the night before. It was nearly disappointing.

"Good morning, Professor," she practically chirped. He felt his lip curl up in a sneer. She ignored it.

Finally, he spoke. "The students arrive this evening and I expect everything to be ready. You will be spending the day preparing the ingredients the students will need. You will also need to go to Diagon Alley and pick up the cauldrons I have ordered."

Tara smiled and nodded. "Yes, sir," she said before turning towards the room where he kept all of his ingredients. There, she found a large crate of ginger roots, which the students would be using to make a Wit-Sharpening Potion. She hummed a little tune as she worked. She was horribly off key, but it make the dull task of cutting ginger into more manageable sizes slightly less mundane.

Once the ginger was chopped, she scribbled a quick note to Professor Snape and left it on a desk in the front row before going to her quarters and fetching her cloak. She then headed for the school gates. She was off to pick up the cauldrons.

Upon her arrival, she was confronted with a cold drawl. "Miss MacDonald."

"Malfoy," Tara replied coolly.

Sure enough, Lucius Malfoy was standing directly beside her. She arched an eyebrow and waited for him to speak. After all, why would he address her if he did not wish to speak to her?

"I was concerned to hear about what had happened. I had heard that you were captured by Death Eaters. Is that not true, then?" he asked smoothly.

Tara actually laughed. She never took her eyes off of his as she replied, "You would know, Malfoy." She then turned and walked away. She could hear her father railing furiously in her head about how one should never turn their back on the enemy, but she ignored it and went to get the cauldrons.

Once she had a crate of miniaturisedcauldrons miniaturized again and tucked in her pocket, she headed for the Leaky Cauldron to have a quick lunch before returning to Snape.

Severus was not happy when she returned. "What took you so long?" he snapped.

It occurred to Tara that he did not look angry, somuch as alarmed. Had he been worried?

"I stopped for lunch." She hesitated for a moment. "Professor, are you alright?"

It was a legitimate question. His face was far paler than it had been when she had seen him that morning and it made his eyes seem even darker. His eyes were wide and capped by brows that drew sharply towards the centre. He raised a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose and it was shaking. It was nearly imperceptible, but it was there.

"I am _fine_, Miss MacDonald. Did you at least get the cauldrons?" he asked coldly, as if he could suck the warmth from her personality.

Tara looked at him in concern, not the least bit put out by his sharp response. "Of course. Would you like a spot of tea? You look pale." At his raised eyebrow, she corrected herself. "More so than usual."

"I said that I was fine. I do not like to repeat myself, Miss MacDonald. The sooner you learn this, the better we will get along," was the acerbic reply.

It was her turn to raise an eyebrow. "Whatever you say, sir," she said in a frighteningly blank voice. Severus was strongly reminded of someone, but he could not think of whom. She turned and walked to the shelf where the few cauldrons to survive the previous year sat.

Snape turned and stalked away from the impertinent girl with his usual swirl of billowing black robes, bothered by what he did not know. She was so familiar; he could feel the comparison weighing heavily on his mind. Who was it?

It was not until later that evening at the Welcome Feast when Severus stopped trying to remember. He had decided it would come in its own time.

Its own time was sooner than he had expected.

The following afternoon, the students had just finished classes and the teachers were stressed, as they had not yet settled into the schedule of the school year. Tara seemed particularly affected. Severus was walking to his quarters when he heard a loud male voice. He froze to listen.

"I will not allow you to associate with students in such a way. You will not have them in your quarters again!" the voice bellowed.

Ah. Severus understood. That would be Tara's father, screaming at her once again.

He heard her snarl. "You are a mere portrait. I did not take orders from you when you were alive and will certainly not take them now. Dea-"

Her father cut her off to bellow her name. "Tara Merope MacDonald! You will listen to me! You are acting like that megalomaniac uncle of yours!"

This time Tara hissed at him, as she had done when Severus had first met her father. "He is all of that and more, but at least he leaves me alone!"

"Does he really?" asked the portrait with a studied boredom. "I could have sworn he was the one who had your mother and I killed."

Severus reeled in shock. Of course! Her middle name was Merope, she hissed when she was truly enraged, and she had a very familiar blankness to her when she wanted to. Not to mention she was terrifying when she was furious. He needed to see the headmaster, and quickly!

Albus Dumbledore enjoyed his lemon drops. He enjoyed them so much that he was sucking on two simultaneously when Severus arrived. His face was screwed up in an odd look of mingled enjoyment and… well, he looked like he had taken a bite out of a lemon.

Severus rolled his eyes. This was, unfortunately, fairly common. He would come sweeping in, his robes swirling magnificently behind him, and the Headmaster would be sitting behind his desk, doing nothing but making faces as he sucked on his lemon drops.

"How is it," Snape asked dryly, "that one of the most famous and skilled wizards since Merlin has this much time on his hands? Should you not be working with the Wizengamot, drafting a new law? Perhaps you _should_ take up Muggle knitting to take up the time, just as you had suggested to me last year."

Dumbledore swallowed his treat and smiled widely. "Severus, my boy! Have a lemon drop!" he cried, offering the dish of sweets.

Severus eyed the yellow confections with disgust. "You know I do not like sweets, Headmaster. They turn my stomach."

Albus' eyes twinkled merrily. "That is why I do not offer you anything sweet. These are sour!"

The younger man waved his hand as if he were dismissing the subject. "Albus, I have found something distressing."

Albus looked concerned. When Severus was worried as he seemed (and he certainly _did_ seem, with his tense shoulders and clenched fists), there was reason for concern. He nodded for his spy to continue.

"It seems that Miss MacDonald is related to the Dark Lord," Severus said, forcing himself to speak calmly and as if there was nothing wrong.

The headmaster did not look the least bit perturbed. "Indeed."

"Are you not concerned for the safety of the students? What of Potter?" He practically barked out. He may not _like_ Potter, but the boy was an orphan because of him and he would not see Lily's son harmed by some relation of the Dark Lord's.

Albus studied the man he recalled as a student. "Severus, has anyone ever told you about the one time I ever privately tutored?"

Severus could feel his rage bubbling up at this change of subject. "Of course. You did yourself. What does this have to do with anything?"

The old man sighed as one of the portraits on the wall behind him muttered rebelliously about the impertinence of the staff. It went by, ignored. "It was Tara. She had the fascinating ability to slip into a trance when she was under a great deal of stress and would do incredible acts of magic. She tore down the house of a teenage boy who wished to court her so badly he was willing to rape her. The only reason he failed was that his entire house collapsed practically on top of him. He steered clear of her after that. I thought this was very odd." Here, he paused and took of his glasses to rub his eyes. When his glasses were once again perched on his nose, he continued. "It was particularly interesting that her mother's maiden name was Riddle. Surely you know something about the Riddles, Severus."

Severus nodded, thinking of the boy, Tom Riddle, who had become the Dark Lord that so many feared. He had been, according to Dumbledore, very skilled with wandless magic even before he had come to Hogwarts. He had managed to control the accidental magic and use it when it suited him. He had mainly used it to hurt others. These bursts of magic seemed to be somewhat like Tara's.

Albus continued. "What Tom never realized was that he had more family than he knew. After leaving Merope Gaunt, Tom's mother, his father remarried. She was a charming witch who allowed him to see that not everyone would control him and bend them to their will. In spite of her being a witch, he loved her and they were married. They had a daughter. They named her Katrina."

Severus paused, thinking about this new information. How had the Dark Lord missed this? He was usually so thorough. Even though he had been young when he had killed his father and paternal grandparents, Severus had a hard time grasping this concept.

Dumbledore did not answer the unspoken question and continued. "Katrina turned out to be a very powerful witch in her own right. As a child, she was brilliant and mastered spells quickly. It is interesting that powerful magic seems to come from Tom's Muggle father, rather than his pureblood mother. Merope was little more than a squib, but both of Tom Riddle senior's children were very powerful.

"Unfortunately for Katrina," he went on, "her parents had her matched with a boy named Marcus MacDonald. He was very uncaring and was cruel and controlling even then. For the most part, she ignored this and had a happy childhood until Tom went back. She and her mother had gone out to Diagon Alley to pick up a few things and spend some time with a family friend while her father and grandparents entertained some friends in their manor. You, of course, know that Tom went over and killed the three of them that night, completely unaware that he was not the last of the Riddles."

Snape found himself becoming more and more angry as the older man spoke. While his family was by no means filled with saints, he would not have gone so far out of his way as to attempt killing them all. He had killed, certainly, but he would not have killed even his father, who had never been a shining example of fatherhood.

"To make a long story short," Dumbledore was finishing, wiping a tear from his eye, "Katrina married Marcus because her mother wished her to do as her father had hoped she would. Marcus was a pureblood, and another marvelous opportunity like that was unlikely for a halfblood such as Katrina. Her mother died of old age a couple of years ago and now Marcus and Katrina are gone, leaving their daughter, who is well aware of who her family is and what their history is. Voldemort, however, remains oblivious."

Severus was somewhat confused. "Why in the name of Merlin does he want her, then? He still wants to kidnap her and use her! Why would he go to such lengths to kill Katrina and kidnap Tara?"

Dumbledore clasped his hands before him on the desk. "This is where it becomes speculation and guesswork on my part. I believe that he _is_ unaware, but wants Tara for her abilities to do incredible things when she is overly stressed or pressured. I also think that he killed Marcus because he refused to join the Death Eaters and Katrina because she was a halfblood. It also kept them out of the way."

Severus arched an eyebrow. "Does she know that you have all of these speculations?"

"She has a far better grasp of what is going on than either you or I, I think," Dumbledore replied thoughtfully.

It was true. Tara knew what Voldemort wanted, and she knew just how to keep him from getting it. It was just a matter of time before she would be permitted to spy. While that time passed, she needed to get closer to one Harry Potter.

He and his two best friends had been the students in her quarters that she and her father had argued about. She needed to be closer to the Boy-Who-Livedso that, when the time came, she would be able to help. If there was one thing Tara knew, it was what she needed to do to take down… the one family member she had left.

She felt a tear trail down her face and she quickly swiped it away, glad that no one had seen it. She must not think that way. Voldemort was evil and had torn apart every relationship she had or could have had with her family. He was going to die a horrible and painful death.

When Tara went to bed that night, her face was set in a determined mask and she only had thoughts of killing her own uncle.

The next morning came entirely too early for Tara's tastes. The sunlight filtered in through her tightly drawn curtains and snuck through her eyelids, making it impossible for her to return to sleep. Grumbling about how much she hated mornings, she prepared for the day.

Breakfast was fairly uneventful. It was a relief to her that she was not expected to be lively. She wasn't feeling up to it.

By the time she had downed several cups of coffee, Tara was feeling more awake, and cheerfully headed for the dungeons. That was when she heard them. She stopped around the corner to avoid being seen.

"What do you want, Malfoy?" came Harry's voice.

She heard the sneer in the responding voice. "I want to know why you were down in the dungeons last night, and why you were in a professor's quarters."

She could hear Hermione speaking next. "She is not a professor; she is a professor's assistant."

"Must you _always_ be an insufferable know-it-all, Granger?" came an unfamiliar voice. Probably a Slytherin, Tara decided.

"And must you," Harry snapped, "always be a git, Zabini?"

Ah. So the other Slytherin was named Zabini. She knew a thing or two about his mother. She decided to make her presence known.

As she walked around the corner she noticed three things: Ron Weasley was not with Hermione and Harry, Malfoy was looking ridiculously sure of himself, and Zabini was just as beautiful to look at as his mother, who charmed the men easily.

"Malfoy," she said coldly, "you would do well to remember that the whole of wizarding society does not fall to worship at the feet of any Malfoy. Only the weak follow the great prats that make up the whole of the Malfoy family. And you." She turned to Zabini. "You are following him. What does that say about you?"

"Of course they follow me. I am a Malfoy! They call me the 'Slytherin Prince'." Malfoy snapped.

Tara sneered. "I don't think that Voldemort, the legitimate heir of Slytherin, would be happy with you calling yourself a Slytherin Prince. If you want a true Prince, you should talk to your godfather."

Zabini smirked. "What does Professor Snape have to do with anything?"

"Why don't you ask him?" Tara asked rhetorically as she stared him down. What a pompous little brat!

"Ask me what?" asked a voice over Tara's shoulder. It was a familiar cold and biting voice.

She smiled. "Professor Snape. I was just telling your godson that he should ask you what it is to be a Prince."

Snape scowled blackly at her before he pasted a wicked smirk on his face and turned it to his godson. "Ah, Draco. Mr. Zabini. Lovely to see you both. What is this about being a Prince?"

Zabini became sullen and retreated into silence, but Malfoy was sure of his impending success with his godfather. "Miss MacDonald does not believe that I am the Slytherin Prince. She said that the Dark Lord was, and that you were a true prince. What does she mean by that, sir?"

"You have to be born a Prince, Draco. Unfortunately, you were not. Even more unfortunately, you have allowed Miss MacDonald to play you like a fool," he said with a dark scowl.

Draco swallowed noticeably and Harry began to chuckle. Snape turned his attention to the two Gryffindors. "Potter," he spat. "Do you have something to contribute?"

"No, sir," Harry replied, instantly contrite.

When the Slytherins had finally departed, Harry burst out laughing. Even Hermione had to smile. "Way to use that Halfblood Prince thing I was telling you about," Harry gasped out while trying to catch his breath.

Tara smirked. "All in a days work."

Ron chose that moment to burst into the hallway. "I just heard Malfoy talking to himself. As bloody crazy as Uric the Oddball, that one."

Hermione looked confused. "Who?"

"You don't know?" Ron asked in amazement.

"How would I know, Ron? I'm Muggle-born, and he certainly isn't in any book I've heard of," Hermione bit out impatiently.

"Oh." He looked sheepish. "Uric the Oddball's just a guy who is famous for wearing a jellyfish as a hat. He was back in the medieval days. Anyways, what happened down here? I was running to catch up with you guys and there's Malfoy, talking to himself. He said something about Tara and Snape before I couldn't hear him anymore."

Harry grinned widely. "Tara pointed out that Malfoy can't be the Slytherin Prince if Voldemort – oh, get over it, you two – is the heir of Slytherin and he can't be a Prince unless he is blood related to Snape."

"Professor Snape, Harry," Hermione sighed. They had been through this _how_ many times??

Just as Hermione was rallying herself together to lecture Harry about properly addressing professors (_again_), Tara pointed out, "You do realize that your first class begins in about twenty minutes, right? All of your books are in your seventh floor dormitories and you are in the dungeons. You might want to get a move on." Harry looked relieved to be spared the lecture, and grinned at Tara. She winked at him before waving her hands at the three of them in a shooing motion.

Another year at Hogwarts had officially begun.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Does the name Jenny-Beth look at all like the letters JKR to you

**Disclaimer:** Does the name Jenny-Beth look at all like the letters JKR to you? I didn't think so.

**Author's Note:** Well, here it is, chapter four. Trelawney shows up and makes her typical statements. I would like to point out that she drew the upside down tower card during book 6, in which Dumbledore dies. Look it up and then look up the right side up tower. You will see the significant, if minute, differences.

This chapter is actually a little bit longer than usual to fit everything in. Now will you forgive me for the stupidly long time it took me to update?

_Power The Dark Lord Knows Not_

_Chapter Four_

Two months passed before Severus was summoned to the Dark Lord's side. It was two months that he had spent working with an increasingly quiet Tara. Two months of wondering why he was not being called to the side of his supposed master.

When the summons finally he came, he put a stasis on the potion he was working on and was out of the school in record time. It would not do to keep the Dark Lord waiting. He turned quickly on the spot and he was gone.

All of the Death Eaters seemed to be crowded into the grand hallway of the old manor that Voldemort was using as his headquarters. The old fortress was made for defence, not hosting revels and large parties. Finally, after waiting for twenty long minutes, the doors to a massive room on Severus' left opened and the crowd began to enter. When everyone was in, the doors closed. When they opened again, Lord Voldemort was there. Behind him was Lucius Malfoy, holding onto the chains that practically dripped off of a young blonde woman.

She was petite with scraggly hair that seemed as if it had not been washed or brushed in months. Her tiny figure was unbearably thin, as if she had not eaten a good meal in months, and her eyes were cast towards the floor. Everything that one noticed when they first glanced at her implied that this was just another prisoner.

However, on closer inspection, Severus noticed a few things that did not add up to a terrified or submissive prisoner. Her back was straight, rather than hunched over in defeat, and her steps were measured and sure.

The most noticeable thing about her, however, was her eyes. They were a bright green that was not dulled by defeat or terror. Rather, they were hard, cool, and calculating. She looked like someone who had taken a carefully calculated step in a long plan and had landed on her feet.

Needless to say, she was not some common Muggle girl. In fact, she looked like the Macnair girl.

"Lucius," the Dark Lord hissed. "What have you brought before me?"

"Miranda Macnair, my lord. She was on the run from her father and the Dark Mark, but we have caught her and brought her before you for torture or the Mark."

"Do not presume that you have the right to tell me what to do with prisoners, Lucius," Voldemort hissed snarled. His red eyes gleamed as he took in the appearance of the girl. He seemed to notice all that Severus had, for he stepped towards her and asked, "You're no ordinary prisoner, are you?"

The young woman looked determinedly at his feet and said nothing. She did not make eye contact, nor did she bow. She simply was.

"Severus," the Dark Lord hissed, not once looking up from the girl. "Take this one and make her fit to be in my presence." He chose that moment to look into the obsidian eyes of the Potions Master. "If you fail me in this, you will regret it greatly."

Severus made no response except to nod. The Dark Lord dismissed him with a wave and he grabbed the young woman by the wrist on his way past her towards the door.

Miranda Macnair was a name that Severus suspected would stay with him for the rest of his life. While her attitude displayed great courage, she seemed to feel no need to speak to him or anyone else. As a result, Severus suspected that his remaining time to recall her was short. The Dark Lord had no need for someone who could not report to him verbally at a meeting.

He was pacing in his office at the school and thinking all of this over when there was a knock on the door. "Come in," he invited gruffly, trying to cast aside all thoughts of the Macnair girl.

Tara walked in quietly. He had noticed that she was more subdued lately and he wondered what had caused it. It did not escape his notice that the two month waiting period was up and he had heard nothing about her going to spy on the Death Eaters. He hoped that either she had given up on the notion, or Dumbledore had refused.

"Good morning, sir. Are you alright?" she asked as soon as she saw his face, cast with the shadows of too much stress.

"I will be fine, Miss MacDonald. I had a late night meeting with a charming young lady and now I am rather exhausted."

Tara lifted an eyebrow but he did not expand on his comment. Let her think the worst. He was not going to tell her the intimate details of his job as a spy. "Whatever you say, sir. There is a rather terrified student here looking for some extra help. Shall I do it?"

Severus had never been as grateful for an assistant as he was at that moment. He was not able to deal with dunderheaded students at the moment. "Go right ahead," he replied dismissively.

As she walked out the door again, he drew some of his marking towards him. He had a few hours left until classes began and he would do well not to think of either Miss Macnair or Miss MacDonald.

Not five minutes later he pushed the marking aside. All he could think of was the comparison between the two women. While Tara was outgoing and would not close her mouth for more than thirty seconds at a time (which was why he believed she would make a terrible spy), Miranda Macnair could not be made to speak, and it may well cost him his life. The Dark Lord had sent notice that he had a week to make the girl into a whole new woman. She was to take the Mark or be killed. If she was to be killed, he was, as well.

Death, in and of itself, was not all that frightening to Severus, who had wished many times that he were dead simply so that everything would be greatly simplified. It was the prospect of what would become of Miss Macnair and who the Order would use to replace him as a spy.

That brought him in a full circle. He was thinking about Tara and Miranda again.

Tara groaned as she walked through the classroom and out to the door to greet the student who needed help. She suspected that the first year boy must have been in pretty dire straits if he was coming to Snape for help.

She opened the door and looked down at him with a small, tired smile. She had not gotten much sleep, either, and was paying for it this morning. She dragged herself out of the doorway and gestured for the student to come in.

While he explained what it was that he needed help with, Tara's mind wandered. She needed to speak with Harry again. She had talked with Dumbledore and had found out that a young woman by the name of Miranda Macnair needed some help. Before that meeting, she had never even heard of the woman.

She emitted a sigh as she noticed that the boy was no longer speaking and was looking at her as if she was supposed to say something. She looked at where his finger was resting in the textbook in front of him and very nearly taught him the complete lesson all over again. Merlin, she hated early morning study sessions. She had not had coffee yet, and was not feeling able to deal with the world at the moment.

When the boy finally left, it was time for breakfast. She knocked at Snape's door again. When he admitted her entrance she poked her head in and told him that she had finished with the boy, and that she was now going down to breakfast. He merely nodded absently in response. She took that as her cue to leave.

By the time she made it to the High Table for breakfast, there was no coffee left. She let her head fall to the table with a dull thump. Minerva, who was sitting on her left, patted her back. "Tea?" she asked calmly.

"How can you be so calm about the lack of highly caffeinated beverage?" Tara demanded, her voice muffled by her face full of table.

"It's an art," the older woman replied with a chuckle as she poured her co-worker a cup of steaming hot tea.

Tara looked up in disgust. "You just chuckled. _How_ can you chuckle at this time of morning?"

Minerva smiled. "Are you always this much of a morning person?"

The younger girl scowled and chugged back her cup of tea. It scalded her mouth and throat, but it gave her a nice jolt of wakefulness, as well.

No sooner was the tea gone when Sybil Trelawney, who was sitting on her right, took the teacup right out of her hand. She turned it a few times before stopping and taking a long, hard look at the cup. She tisked. "A flag. You are in grave danger, my dear."

Tara made no effort to hide her snort. Just as Minerva was about to make a scathing comment to the other woman, she spoke up. "You don't say. I'm so glad the tea leaves tell you what I already know."

Trelawney scowled before pulling out a deck of cards. She shuffled it several times while Tara ate her breakfast, pointedly ignoring the other woman. As she was about to get up, Trelawney drew the card off the top of the deck and said dramatically, "The upright tower; the overthrow of an existing way of life. Beware of dramatic upheaval and widespread repercussions of your actions. Rest assured. It will work in the end."

Tara snorted again. "Well that's comforting. I am glad that you have managed to gain something that makes sense according to what is _already happening_ in a teacup and a deck of cards. Good day."

She walked out of the Great Hall with a great deal of composure. Of course she was in danger. Death Eaters were after her, for Merlin's sake! Naturally that would change her life. What rubbish.

There was a fierce glare on her face when she arrived in the Potions classroom to set up for class. Surprisingly, Snape was in the room already and had already begun to prepare some of the more complex ingredients that would be needed for the day. He looked up as she came and asked wryly, "Bad day?"

"It's only just begun," she sighed as she sank into a chair behind a desk. "Is Trelawney always a batty old fool?" Snape merely nodded without looking up from the ground erumpent horn he was currently measuring out so she continued. "How did she even get the job? She's clearly not quite with the program."

He carefully set his work down and then turned to look at her. "Indeed. She does manage to make the rare useful prophecy. I believe she has made at least two about or to Potter that have come true."

Tara just arched an eyebrow and pulled herself to her feet. "I want to sleep for a month," she muttered quietly as she shuffled towards her quarters. It was not shaping up to be a good day.

It was the last class of the day and Tara was ready to rip someone's throat out with her bare hands. A first year Hufflepuff had managed to create some sort of acid rather than her potion and had burned herself quite badly and Slytherin fifth year had managed to stab himself with his knife while chopping up one of the ingredients for his very basic potion.

Now she and Snape were looking out at a class of seventh year Gryffindors and Slytherins. Tara was either going to hit someone or cry and Snape looked like he might kill himself. It had already been a bad day and it simply could not get better now.

Malfoy and Harry were glaring each other down, Ron and Zabini were clenching and unclenching their fists, and Hermione looked as if she might take out her copy of Hogwarts: A History and use it to beat Crabbe and Goyle.

Oh yes. This was going to be bad.

"You will turn to page five hundred and ninety six," Snape said coldly. "And if any of you so much as look at one another for the rest of the class, I will have you in detention for a week. Now read chapter eighteen. Yes, Miss Granger?"

Hermione's hand had shot up in the air and she seemed about ready to fall out of her chair. "Professor, I've already read chapter eighteen."

Snape sneered. "I imagine that you have read the entire book."

"Yes, sir," Hermione said with a nod.

He scowled dangerously. "You will write me an essay on the properties of the Polyjuice potion. You should be an expert on that, so you will not need to use your books."

Hermione paled at the look he was giving her and the reference to the Polyjuice potion that she had made in her second year. "Yes, sir," she said as she reached for a parchment and her quill.

Tara had been watching the exchange with no intention of interrupting. As much as she liked Hermione, today was just too difficult to suffer through another scalding lecture from Snape, who was just as frustrated as she over the day's events.

Severus Apparated back to the Dark Lord's fortress that night to work with the Macnair girl. He _had_ to get her into shape or they were both dead. Being a Death Eater was not all that difficult as long as you kept your head down and avoided notice. She would be noticed immediately if she would not speak. She would be considered insolent for refusing to report to the Dark Lord.

They were dead.

He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose before he composed himself and strode purposefully into the dungeons where she was being kept.

Her cell was dark and stale. Severus felt like he could not breathe, as the air was so close and heavy. Miranda's green eyes met his through the darkness. He met them easily and waited- hoped- for some sort of greeting. She nodded to him but remained silent. He bit back a sigh and ordered her to get up.

The two of them walked silently through the corridors of the prison and were soon in a room with nothing in it. The walls were off-white and the floors were grey. There was no window. A single candle hovered in the air, spluttering from a wick that had not been trimmed.

Miranda walked quietly into the room and remained standing as she stared at Severus. He met her gaze.

"Is there something on my face?" he asked sarcastically. She quickly looked away and shook her head. He almost wished that Tara was there. She never stopped jabbering, but at least she wasn't nervous and silent.

He attempted to talk to her about many different topics over the course of the night, but nothing seemed to work. She would not speak. It had, at some point earlier on, occurred to him to perform a diagnostic spell to test whether or not she _could_ speak. The results stated that there was nothing medically wrong with her. He had audibly growled before moving on to yet another mindless subject.

Finally, at about four in the morning, Severus' patience snapped. "Do you not realize what it means if you do not talk? You and I will both die! Is that what you want?"

Miranda shook her head and studied the floor in front of her. Tears slipped down her face as she sat in silence for the rest of the night.

Tara was staring blankly up at the ceiling above her bed. 'So tired,' she thought unhappily.

There was a sudden banging on her door. She groaned and pulled herself out of the bed. The banging suddenly increased in volume and her door was shaking on its hinges. "Merlin! I'm coming!" she yelled in frustration.

On the other side of her door was an irate Snape. "What were you doing in there?" he seethed. "I need my assistant, and she's doing Merlin knows what!"

"I might be more inclined to help you, _Professor_, if you hadn't nearly taken my door off the hinges!" She growled back.

"Tara MacDonald! Respect your superiors!" the portrait of her father said furiously.

Her eyes narrowed and she turned to look at her father. "You stay out of this. You're _dead_!" She took a deep breath and turned back to Snape. "What can I do for you, Professor?" she asked with exaggerated politeness.

"You wanted to spy. I need a favour." He clearly was not happy that he had to ask for help.

Tara sighed. "What do you need?"

"The Dark Lord has me working with a young woman. He wants her to take the Mark if I can get her in shape to do so. She won't even talk. She will be killed if she does not seem acceptable to the Dark Lord."

She did not even blink. "Where do I come in?"

Snape pinched the bridge of his nose again. "She won't talk, but you have a way of making people do it whether they want to or not. I want you to meet her."

"And how do you propose I do that?"

"Polyjuice. Bellatrix will be out of the fortress for a few days and I have some of her hair."

"I am not going to ask," Tara said drily. "Alright, I'll come. When do we leave?"

"Now," was his abrupt response.

"It's Saturday morning and I had no sleep!" Tara whined.

Snape stared at her. "How is it my fault that you were up partying all night with friends?"

She didn't even bother to correct him. "I'll get my cloak."

The fortress was much larger than Tara had anticipated. It was a massive building with an exterior comprised entirely of stone. It was bleak and colourless. She gaped at it and then turned to Snape.

"Do people actually _live_ in this building?"

Snape nodded. "A select few do. Those with nowhere else to go or are entirely too dedicated stay here." He coughed and it sounded suspiciously like 'Bella'. Quickly, he withdrew a muddy brown liquid contained in vial from his pocket. Once the top was removed, he added a few long black hairs.

As soon as the hair came in contact with the Polyjuice, it turned a nasty dark purple colour. It was so dark that it was nearly black and it was hissing in a manner that Tara found entirely disconcerting. "You want me to drink that?"

Snape answered by shoving the vial roughly into her hand. She took it and looked at him in consternation for a moment before she plugged her nose and chugged the nasty potion back in one overlarge gulp. She promptly began to choke.

"That's what you get for drinking it so quickly," Snape remarked unsympathetically.

Tara got a hold of herself and scowled at him. "That's not what happened. I choked on one of the hairs. Have you ever tried to drink a potion with long hairs in it before?"

Snape scowled back and took off at a fast walk. "That's what I thought," she muttered under her breath before she took off after him.

They had no sooner entered the fortress when they encountered their first problem. Tara had never met Bellatrix Lestrange, so she had no idea how to impersonate her. Exactly on the other side of the door was Rodolphus, her husband.

"Bella."

Tara had, unfortunately, had the misfortune of meeting Rudolphus before. One was not a pureblood with an old name without knowing at least most of the other purebloods. She was able to call him by name. "Rodolphus," she replied with a small, impersonal smile.

He looked at her in confusion and looked as if he might say something so Snape jumped in. "Rodolphus," he greeted with a typically blank face and a nod. "Please excuse us, but we need to see one of the prisoners."

Rodolphus grinned. It was not a pretty sight. He had yellowed teeth and an oddly twisted face. "Off to see the Macnair girl? She wouldn't be half bad if she was cleaned up a bit. Having a little fun with her?"

Snape bit back a sigh. The man was so inferior to… everyone! "No, Rudolphus. I am trying to make her worthy of the Mark. Please excuse us," he said in the tone of voice he usually reserved for Potter and Longbottom.

Tara followed him through many halls and cavernous rooms. Fortunately, the only people they saw were not interested in talking. They all simply nodded in greeting. She and Snape returned the favour.

When they finally reached the dungeons, Tara was remarkably lost. They had been walking for the better part of a half hour and they were just reaching their destination. What an absurdly large fortress!

The blonde girl huddled in the cell that Snape indicated immediately had Tara's concentration. Indeed, he was surprised by the intensity that she put into her stare at the girl. She did not even blink for a long time. When she did blink, she had looked away at Snape. He was disconcerted to see a calm expression on Bella's face.

"What did you want me to do, exactly?" she asked curiously.

He scowled at Miranda, who was still crouching miserably in her cell. "Just get her to talk! I can work with her once she talks."

Tara nodded and turned back to the woman in the cell. Hours spent in the cell did not produce any noticeable results. Tara had just consumed the last of his Polyjuice and now they had to get out of there before their hour was up. It would not do for her to be recognized in the fortress.

The two of them departed in a foul mood. No apparent changes had presented themselves and both were exhausted. Snape was sure that he was going to die.

The week was up and Snape went to the Dark Lord. He was so sure that he was going to die that he was going to die that night that he had left his final will and testament with Albus. The old man had looked at him sadly before dismissing him. Apparently the Headmaster thought he would die, as well.

He once again arrived in the crowded main hallway and waited for the doors to the meeting chamber to open and allow entrance. It had been decided (by the Dark Lord, of course) that Lucius would lead the girl in again.

He took a deep, steadying breath as the doors opened. He was one of the last people to enter the room, as he was in absolutely no hurry to die. The doors closed behind him. The bang they made as they closed seemed abnormally loud and final to poor Severus.

When the doors opened again, Severus was careful to bow no more or less deeply than usual. His heart was in it much less than usual, but he supposed that was to be expected. He watched the hem of the Dark Lord's black robes pass him by. He looked up to watch Lucius lead Miranda down the aisle the Death Eaters had formed. He was surprised to see that she looked even less defeated than she had the last time she had faced the Dark Lord. Was the girl not afraid to die?

When she and Lucius reached the head of the aisle, they bowed before Voldemort, who had remained standing. "You may rise," the serpentine man hissed softly. Although his voice was quiet, it carried in the blaring silence that filled the hall. None dared speak and incur the wrath of their Lord.

As the assembly rose to their feet, the Dark Lord sat in the throne-like chair behind him. His red eyes flitted across the room, taking in the number of followers that had responded to his summons. If he took special notice of Severus, no one was aware of it.

"Lucius, make her look at me."

The tall blonde man forcefully pulled Miranda's chin up. There was something different about her this time.

It took Severus a moment to figure out what it was. When he realized what it was, he nearly toppled over.

She was speaking.

In a very soft undertone, she was threatening to tear Lucius apart, limb by limb, until there was nothing left. While her voice was too quiet to be heard by anyone other than the man who had pulled her along and the Dark Lord, she was _speaking_!

The Dark Lord noticed and smirked. "Spunky," was his only comment.

Miranda's gaze never faltered from his. Where last time she had seen him, she had been silent and refused to meet his gaze; she now met his gaze and spoke smoothly in a voice that carried easily to Severus' relieved ears.

"Milord." She inclined her head slightly towards him but never broke eye contact and did not dip into a full bow.

One pale eyebrow lifted as he studied her. If she noticed the intrusion in her mind as he performed Legilimency, she did not let on and continued to meet his gaze. Her only movement was to bring her chin up marginally.

Severus held his breath as he waited for the verdict. Was she to die or take the Mark?

The Dark Lord finally spoke to her. "Will you willingly take the Mark?"

"Do I have a choice?" she asked with a great deal of cheek.

Voldemort studied her for a long moment while Severus waited to be called upon for his killing curse. "Not particularly. You would do well not to give me cheek, girl."

Miranda smirked calmly and the serpentine man studied her. She was not even remotely intimidated by him and yet she had been on the run. It did not add up in the least.

"Give me your arm," he finally hissed at her as he rose from his chair.

With a cocky grin, Miranda offered her left arm and held it out. Voldemort stood in a silent study of her for several moments as she confidently met his gaze. Severus held his breath, hoping that she would take the Mark and that he would not be punished too harshly for her sass.

Finally, Voldemort held her wrist in his hand and flourished his wand over her arm. He spoke the incantation and the girl barely flinched. Severus was impressed. Taking the Mark had been the most painful experience of his life and was not something he would want to repeat. He noted some approving sounds from the Death Eaters at her lack of reaction to such a painful spell.

When the spell was complete, Voldemort drew back and called to his Death Eaters, "You have a new member in your ranks. I trust that you will treat her well." He met her gaze once more and added, "Especially after her remarkable silence during the spell."

Miranda smirked again and looked unerringly into his red eyes. The other Death Eaters found that they were in awe of this young woman. She was rather remarkable.

"How did she do?" Tara asked Snape eagerly the next morning. "Did she talk?"

He looked up at his assistant and said calmly, "She performed admirably."

Tara frowned in mingled confusion and irritation. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means," Snape said slowly, as if speaking to a child, "that neither she nor I are dead and she has a charming new tattoo."

"Charming," was Tara's dry response. "You have such a wonderful sense of humour, Professor," she added with an impish grin.

Unlike just the day before when he was finding all the differences between her and Miranda, he now found himself looking at the similarities. One would definitely be the cheek to superiors.

"One day you're going to get in trouble with that cheek, Miss MacDonald."

"Most likely," she agreed cheerfully. "I think it's worth the risk."

The two of them smirked and walked companionably to breakfast.

Albus was sitting behind his desk, contemplating life as a whole when Severus walked in.

"I am impressed, Headmaster. No lemon drops?" he asked drily.

The older man smiled cheerfully. "I was simply waiting for guests. Would you like one?" he asked as he extended the dish of sweets to the spy.

Severus looked disgusted at the offer, as was his custom. "Albus, how many times must I tell you that I do not care for sweets?"

"Always once more, Severus," was all the reply he received as the Headmaster placed one of his favourite sweets in his mouth. His face immediately puckered up. "What brings you to my office this fine day?"

"Miranda Macnair took the Mark last night."

Albus met his gaze easily. "I had assumed so, as I am not searching for another Potions Master."

Severus smiled wryly. "Thank you for that vote of confidence, Headmaster."

"Oh, come now. You know that I have a great deal of faith in you."

Severus arched an eyebrow. "I do?"

Albus grinned at him. "Of course you do."

At that moment there was a sharp knock on the office door. "Come in," Albus called.

Tara strolled in and paused at the sight of Snape in one of the chairs. "My apologies. I'm interrupting. I will come back at a more convenient time."

"Nonsense. There is not better time. Severus, could you excuse us?"

The Potions Master blinked rapidly in surprise before he composed himself. "Of course, Headmaster."

As he walked down the stairs, and away from the office, he wondered once again about Tara's desire to spy. Were they planning to work her into the Dark Lord's ranks somehow? He swallowed his instinctive groan. This simply could not be happening. The girl would not last a day and would fool no one.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: The entire series would be unrecognizable if it were mine

**Disclaimer: **The entire series would be unrecognizable if it were mine!

**Author's Note: **Alright, I have got my notes in order and all of you people who think that Tara is a Mary Sue are in for a _major_ surprise. Oh, and for anyone who wants some foreshadowing, I'll tell you that Tara's birthday is on April 30th, which is Walpurgis Night.

_**Power The Dark Lord Knows Not**_

_**Chapter Five**_

Severus was called to the Dark Lord's side after only a week. It was a cool Saturday night and all of the Death Eaters were congregating in a field within the castle walls. The stars were out and sparkling maliciously, like the teeth of an animal playing with it's prey.

Severus stood off to the side, his eyes scanning for Miranda Macnair. He found her standing silently beside a tree. Bellatrix moved to her side and said something. Miranda's chin rose slightly and she said something that Severus could not hear from his position, but it had caused some of the nearer Death Eaters to laugh, and apparently at Bella's expense, if the look on her face was any indication.

As the others drifted away, Severus approached. Her green eyes seemed to harden and he could feel her Occlumency shields strengthen. He wondered if there was something he had done to make him seem less than trustworthy to her. As he opened his mouth to speak, she hissed, "The Dark Lord is coming. Bow." Both quickly dropped to their knees to await the serpentine man's arrival. It was not long in coming.

"You may rise." Voldemort spoke softly but his voice was carried by a soft breeze over the silent Death Eaters. The group all rose together and awaited the purpose of their gathering. They did not wait long. "Lucius, repeat your news."

Lucius Malfoy rose, looking as pompous as ever in spite of the mask covering his face. "My son tells me that he has heard Dumbledore speaking of the Dark Lord having a relative who is also very powerful."

Severus stiffened and he felt, rather than saw, Miranda do the same next to him. Did she know?

"Severus, what have you heard about this?" the Dark Lord demanded.

He felt Miranda's eyes burning into the side of his head as he looked into Voldemort's scarlet eyes. "I have heard about it, Milord, but I did not give it much credit. Surely you would be aware of such a thing. And how would it be possible?"

The Dark Lord's eyes narrowed at the reference to his past but he let it go when he did not sense an ulterior motive coming from the younger man who was in Hogwarts' employ. "Indeed. Upon some research, however, I have found it to be true."

There was a collective gasp from the Death Eaters before he continued. "It seems that I had a half-sister of whom I was unaware. She was killed a few months back by my own orders. It seems that she had a daughter. I trust you all remember the name Tara MacDonald."

The entire group of Death Eaters seemed to reel in shock as they gasped and muttered amongst themselves.

"Silence!" the Dark Lord snarled loudly. The entire assembly fell silent and he continued. "For the time being, our focus is to get Miss MacDonald on our side. It would be a problem if she joined the Order, and I will not allow that to happen. We _will _deal with Potter, but for now, he is not the priority."

Severus was tense, waiting for someone to realize that he would be ideal for this task. It did not happen.

"Miranda," Voldemort said smoothly.

She stepped forward and Severus was appalled to note that he could no longer feel Occlumentic shields around her. "Yes, Milord?"

"You are going to find out everything that you can about her and report to me. I don't care how you do it, but I want it done."

"Of course, Milord," she replied, bowing low. "May I speak freely, Milord?" she asked quietly.

The Dark Lord contemplated her for a moment, and Severus wondered if she had gone too far for such a new follower. "You may," was the response received after a long wait.

She looked up and met Voldemort's gaze calmly. "I had heard rumours that she is assisting Severus Snape in his classroom at Hogwarts."

Severus felt his heart splutter unpleasantly and then plummet downwards; somehow ending up in his throat, but the Dark Lord never even glanced at him. "I was aware of this."

Miranda nodded and bowed deeply before backing away from her master.

When the meeting was finished, Severus and Miranda exchanged a brief glance before they both Apparated away.

As soon as Severus was back at the castle, he rushed to Dumbledore's office. This information would be of significant importance to the Order.

At the foot of the moving stairs, he met Tara. She was calmly climbing onto the stairs, looking ridiculously relaxed for someone who was being hunted by Death Eaters. On the other hand, he supposed that she was unaware of the threat she was under.

They both rode the stairway up and Dumbledore welcomed them quietly. He seemed to be lacking his usual enthusiasm. The twinkle in his eye was gone and he failed to offer either of them a lemon drop.

The two of them eyed one another warily and waited for Albus to say which of them he wished to speak with. He seemed to be aware of this. "I wish to speak with both of you. Please take a seat," he offered, waving his hands at two comfortable chairs placed in front of his desk. They both sank into them.

"Headmaster," Severus began, "I highly doubt that she should hear what I have to say. It is on the topic of spying."

Albus turned to look at the younger man. "Ah, but Miss MacDonald is already a spy."

Try as he may, Severus drew a blank. "But there have been no new Death Eaters."

Tara's eyes sparkled mischievously. "Not one?"

Severus felt his eyes widen in shock. "Miranda? _You_ are Miranda? How is that even possible? You were here and she was there, and then both of you were there at the same time!"

"You will find," Albus said slowly, "that Tara is quite skilled at a great number of things. Not only is she an excellent potion maker, but she also is very good at mind magic."

Severus turned and stared openly at Tara for a moment before he composed himself. Well, he thought, _that_ explains a few things. He himself had only mastered a small portion of mind magic. He was a very powerful Occlumens, and he was a reasonably strong Legillimens, though nowhere near as powerful as Dumbledore or Voldemort. He had never even _attempted_ any other area of mind magic.

It made sense, then, that Tara was such a strong Occlumens that he was unable to so much as sense her presence, and that she so ably entered his own head. Fortunately, she did not do so often, as he was unable to defend himself against it.

While he had never attempted other areas of mind magic, he was well aware of the less common branches of it. He knew that a person truly skilled in mind magic could use a form of telepathy, or could cause people to believe they did or did not see something, whether it was there or not.

"Have you figured it out yet, sir?" It was Tara's voice.

Severus scowled. "Of course I have, you foolish girl. Do you know what would happen if the Dark Lord got a hold of this?"

Albus spoke up. "Who are you talking to, dear boy?"

The Potions Master allowed his eyes to shoot over to Tara, who was smirking at him in a manner that was entirely disconcerting. "Get. Out. Of. My. Head," he growled. Then he sighed. "Is there anything you can_not_ do?"

Tara smiled pleasantly. "Of course there is." He noticed that she did not elaborate.

"Now that's out of the way," Albus interjected calmly, "what happened tonight?"

"Oh, the usual," Tara replied with a laugh. "Blah, blah, Potter, blah, blah, MacDonald, blah, blah, war. Nothing abnormal."

Snape glared at her. "Don't be flippant, girl. The Dark Lord wants you to report back to him about all this."

Tara scowled back. "It's not as if I am reporting to him about something I do not know about!"

"What are you reporting to him?" Albus asked, knowing that if he did not interrupt, they would argue for hours.

"He wants to know everything I can learn about myself. Do you think he would be bothered if I told him obscure information? I would love to tell him that my favourite colour is green and that I have always wanted to be a crayon."

Albus' eyes twinkled. "A green one?"

"Of course!" Tara replied with an emphatic nod.

Severus groaned. "Sweet mother of Merlin. You're going to die within the month."

Tara turned her glare on him again. "I fooled _you_," she pointed out.

"Indeed," he bit out.

"Meeting adjourned. Kindly take your argument elsewhere," Albus interjected tiredly.

They did, in fact, take their argument elsewhere. The next morning brought frosty silence between the two unless talking was strictly necessary. Minerva McGonagall, who had the misfortune to sit between them at the breakfast table, looked rather strained.

Finally breakfast ended and Severus rose to remove himself from the presence of his assistant, if only for a short while. The plan was doomed from the start.

"Severus!"

He turned to see Madam Hooch coming towards him. "Yes?" he asked, pinching his nose.

"I need a favour." At his black look, she barrelled on before he could say that he did not _do_ favours. "My father is very sick and I need to go and see him this weekend."

He quickly saw where this was going. "There is Quidditch this weekend. You want me to referee."

"Thank you for offering!" she answered presumptuously. Then she was gone. He scowled after her and wished he could change the outcome of the conversation.

"She roped you into it too, did she?" Tara asked sympathetically from right beside him.

Severus turned to her with an arched eyebrow. "What, exactly, do you mean when you say 'too'?"

Tara returned his gaze and smirked. "'As well'. It is a conjunction, like 'and'. Have you never heard it before?"

He pinched the bridge of his nose again and closed his eyes for a moment before looking back at her. "You are also refereeing the match?"

She looked positively delighted. "'Also'! I forgot about 'also'!" When he looked almost like he might cry, she took pity on his tortured soul. "Yes. She seemed to think that you would favour Slytherin and she wanted me to keep you in line."

Their gazes met and for a moment they both had perfectly straight faces. Then Tara burst out laughing. Severus managed a small smirk and an, "Indeed," before the two of them strolled out of the Great Hall together. Tara wiped tears of mirth from her cheeks and beamed up at him. There was no way that _anyone_ could keep that man in line!

Miles away, Lord Voldemort was walking through the Riddle Manor in Little Hangleton. He was bemused to notice several pictures throughout the place that he had never noticed when he was there to kill his father and paternal grandparents.

The picture that intrigued him the most was a large one over the mantle. It was a painting of his father with a woman and a little girl. They were all smiling and appeared to be waving at him. He almost wished that it were a wizard's painting so that he could speak to its occupants. Unfortunately, this was an old Muggle house.

He studied the young girl in the picture, who he knew to be Katrina, Tara's mother.

"Only a little longer and then you will be mine, niece."

The day passed as usual at Hogwarts. The only difference was Severus' continued glances at Tara. He could not help but continue to compare her to Miranda Macnair. He saw little that was the same.

While both were outspoken and willing to stand up for what they thought was right, Miranda seemed rather heartless and willing to put others on the line. Tara, on the other hand, went out of her way to make life better for everyone around her. She did not make it _easier_, but she did make it better.

While Severus was aware that the two of them still fought often, she argued with him to make life more bearable for the students. He wondered if it would be less effort on his part to terrorize the students less.

He doubted it.

Miranda was always ready with a quick comeback when people bothered her. Her quick quip at Bella's expense demonstrated that. He wondered why Tara hid that quality of herself away. If Miranda could do it, so could Tara.

It was in these comparisons, that he lost the intense loathing for both sides of his assistant. In comparing one personality to the other, he was finding that there was a middle ground; a true personality that she did not unleash.

Tara had a sharp wit about her that sometimes scathed the people she loved. She was also a quick study of everything she tried to pick up.

But he had never seen her do more with her wand than casually hold it in her hand.

He wondered why it was that she did not use it to perform some of the tasks that he asked her do to prepare for classes. She never used it for anything.

On the other hand, when she was stressed, she would reach into her sleeve and fidget with the handle. When she was feeling threatened, she would take it out of her sleeve and twirl it between her fingers. If she was angered, she would pull it out and hold it at her side, gripping it so tightly that her knuckles would turn white. But she never used it.

"Miss MacDonald." Snape spoke quietly. He was just loud enough to be heard over the loud students passing the room.

Tara looked up. "Yes, sir?"

"I have left my wand in my quarters and I need to contact Dumbledore. Could you send him a patronus for me?"

Her mouth tightened into a straight line and she paled marginally. "Of course, sir," she replied with a quick nod. "What do you need?"

"I require a trip to Diagon Alley this evening to fetch some potion ingredients. I was supposed to patrol tonight, but I will be unable to teach my classes tomorrow without the ingredients they will require."

She drew her wand and looked to be concentrating very hard. She waved her wand in the correct pattern and a horse galloped out of the end of it. It tossed its mane and pranced eagerly as she spoke to it.

"I need you to go to Professor Dumbledore and tell him the following: Professor Snape needs to go to Diagon Alley this evening for potions ingredients that he will need tomorrow. He will be unable to patrol." She paused for a moment and then added, "I will go in his place."

She waved her wand again and the horse galloped through the wall and out of sight. Snape opened his mouth to speak but she held up and hand and closed her eyes.

Soon, Tara opened her eyes and smiled at him. "He got it."

"Why wouldn't he?" Snape asked with a raised brow.

She paled even further but she did not respond. He was curious. Why was she so nervous about him learning about her patronus?

"Why a horse?" he asked curiously. He immediately was disgusted with himself for asking. Most of the time, people did not know why they had the patronus they did. It just popped out of their wand when they conjured it. Also, he had never been nosey. He saw no reason to begin now.

Tara shrugged inelegantly. "That's a good question."

It was at that moment that a familiar phoenix swopped through the open doorway. His brilliant scarlet plumage caught both their eyes and they looked to the bird with curiosity.

"Fawkes?" Tara asked curiously.

The bird cooed softly as Snape took the letter from his leg. Upon flipping it open, it was just a note to the two of them, telling them that Dumbledore had received their message and was counting on Tara to cover the patrol.

Their… message?

Albus Dumbledore was nothing if not succinct unless there was something he was hiding. Usually he would have specifically said that he had received Tara's patronus, not that he had received their message.

He looked at Tara, wondering. Was this also why she had needed to concentrate after sending off her patronus?

Severus found himself looking over at Tara and wondering if this was more of her mind magic. Had she caused him to believe that she had cast a patronus and then afterwards used her telepathy to contact Albus? Her face had shuttered and he did not imagine that he would ever know. She certainly would not tell him.


End file.
